This was a great easy Christmas read. Susie and Bob were loveable characters and were able to fall into this Christmas love story. A heartwarming tale of second chances, love, and the unexpected joys that life can bring. Susie Keane, mourning the loss of her husband, finds herself at a crossroads when she receives the annual Christmas card from the seemingly perfect Bailey family. Determined to create exciting stories of her own, Susie embarks on a journey of self-discovery, embracing cooking courses, motorbike-riding lessons, and pole-dancing classes. The narrative takes an unexpected turn when a school reunion introduces her to Bob Diamond, a man who not only understands her grief but also becomes the source of unexpected joy. As they navigate the complexities of loss and healing, Susie and Bob discover that sometimes, the most unexpected gifts are the ones that bring two lonely hearts together.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley.

This was a great easy Christmas read. Susie and Bob were loveable characters and were able to fall into this Christmas love story.

A bit slow and honestly I didn't know this was a series. I did love the side characters and loved second chance at love. Didn't understand a lot about the bikes, but that's ok and I loved the nursing home scenes, so funny.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this second chance romance. It was heartwarming and I liked all the characters!

This is a lovely, heartwarming holiday read!
Author, Annie Rose, has a gentle writing style that I enjoyed.
Second chance romance is in the cards for both leads as they maneuver losing a spouse.
It may be a bit predictable how the story plays out. But still, very enjoyable as it’s not meant to be suspenseful .
I definitely want to go back and read the series in order as there were a lot of characters that I didn’t know enough about to add depth to this particular story, but I just ignored them, knowing I would go back and read about them in other books.
I would recommend this book at this time of year for sure!

Thank you to author, Anni Rose, NetGalley, and Choc Lit publishing for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication date.

Charlene @lastnownext 🌸📚🤗

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

Omg! 😭😍 this book was perfect! I didn’t expect them being an older couple, but it just made it so much better them over coming the loses and looking for the greater things in life. The book was written well, and had me hooked from the beginning!!

This is a cute romance about two older people finding love in others and themselves after a loss. It was more about trying new things, self exploration, and trying to enjoy life than romance (or Christmas) imo. I think there were a few too many characters for its length, but overall decent. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Susie lost her husband and the yearly christmas letter from a "friend" opened her eyes.

Not only a book for christmas, it's a book that shows up, that you can change your live whenever you want. You can go to a poledance course even if you're an "old" women, or other "crazy" things.

It's so cute and emotional and eyeopening.

Have fun reading!

Recipe for Mr Christmas by Anni Rose
Recipes for Love series #6. Contemporary holiday romance. Older couple, second chance. Full family cast. Can be read as a stand-alone romance but better as part of the series as family is prevalent and intrinsic to this story.
Susie Keanu is mourning the death of her long-time husband. At loose ends, and trying to figure out what she would put in a hypothetical Christmas letter to people, she decides to try local classes in cooking, pole-dancing, and motorbike-riding. She also volunteers at a nursing home hoping it makes her feel capable and strong. At a chance meeting, she chats and connects with Bob, who has also lost his spouse. Both are busy trying to feel needed, or still meaningful so don’t feel they can make dating a priority at their age. Is being lonely at their age just accepted?

At an age both Susie and Bob feel they still have goals and purpose, they also don’t want to take away from memories of their lost spouses. I admired their passion and commitments to actively learn, renew and teach others. They both continue to build friendships which was wonderful for both sides. But I found it a bit sad too that family and other things took priority more times than not. Good on the family for their part.
I had a difficult time with all the family, friends, names and weaving all of them into the story and every page since I haven’t read any of the previous books. There are a lot of secondary characters. A lot.
Bob and Susie do successfully prove that life is not over either at their age or when a spouse passes.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Recipe for Mr. Christmas by Anni Rose was surprisingly funny and inspiring. This book is about Susie, a recently widowed woman, and Bob, a widow. Susie receives a Christmas letter that inspires her to change her life. I had a hard time starting the book, but once I got into it, I enjoyed it very much. Ultimately, I wanted to know what new activity Susie would try. Would Susie and Bob find love?

This was a relatively easy book to read but it did deal with some heavy topics! The main characters are a bit older than me so it was hard to connect to them but I enjoyed reading their story.the book had more of a women’s fiction instead of romance book for me though. Overall I enjoyed the book it was just hard for me to connect so I’m giving it 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read an ARC of this book!

I really enjoyed reading from a more mature perspective, Susie and Bob were very loveable characters. This story features many interwoven characters - but the stars of the book were our main characters. This book brought a lot of hope and joy with their story of them finding love again after losing their spouses. This book was a very slow burn, but did make me feel very warm inside and festive!
Thank you netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this book!

The authors writing style is amazing!

I look forward to reading more from them!

It was a lovely easy read and I really liked the chats the characters had. Susie and Bob were really likeable and I was really excited to see how they grew as widows navigating life after their respective partners died. There was a lot of warmth and fun from them. All in all a lovely book and I will go back and read more in this series.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Recipe for Mr. Christmas was a great idea, but SO SLOW.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC for an honest review.

Great fun loving book and you really must read this. I don't wish to give anything away except you will enjoy it. 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

I enjoyed the previous Recipe for Love series books so much more - I knew going in this was a later in life story, that the characters were much older (generally a later in life story is characters in their 40’s or 50’s and closer to my own age, not 20’s or 30’s and harder to relate to), but these folks were widowed and celebrating their 50th class reunion… much older than usual!

It was hard to relate to them when they are my parents age, not even experiencing things my parents are or doing anything that they are or anyone I know is - trying out experiences and hobbies to keep occupied, like riding a motorcycle and taking pole dancing classes and other crafting things. All also while dealing with adult (including step) children and their own challenges…

I enjoyed the rest of this series and while I appreciate the later in life finding a second love idea, I just didn’t connect. I do enjoy Anni Rose and her writing and look forward to more from her - this particular book just was not for me. I know she will have an audience - just a single 40-something is not at all it!

This is definitely a women’s fiction book, not really a romance.

I received a copy from NetGalley and Joffe Books (Choc Lit), and this is my honest opinion.

"Recipe for Mr. Christmas" by Anni Rose is a sweet and heartwarming holiday romance filled with delightful characters and festive spirit.

I really enjoyed this story of mature adults learning to love again after the loss of a spouse. Recipe for Mr. Christmas has a large cast of interconnected characters, and I enjoyed hearing all of their stories. There was a lot of humor in the book, along with some sadness, just like in real life. I really enjoyed this book by Anni Rose. Thank you, NetGalley, for the advance reader copy of this book.